Sui Generis - First Look @ Forbes

“Sui Generis is not about running around killing hordes of enemies in order to collect experience points and numerous items,” the Kickstarter page reads. “It is about exploring a world and being involved in major events there. What exactly you do and how you do it is entirely up to you. The world is carefully designed to be believable and have a life of its own. It is not there to wait for you to go on quests, trigger events or make decisions. Events will take their course and may take a turn for the worse if you don’t get involved.”
There will be no saving and loading, no easy out for the unwary or careless, and death—well, prepare to die. And when you do die, events that transpired before your death will remain in place. Death matters.
“Much of the time combat situations will be occasional yet meaningful,” the game description continues. “Few opponents can be dismissed as trivial. Though there are powerful items, even an old rusty sword can be effective in the right hands. There are no levels, but there is a more natural progression system based on skills and thaumaturgic powers. There are no classes, but rather countless possible builds with diverse and interesting qualities.”
No classes, no leveling, and a deep, dynamic open-world. Oh, and really unique and quite possibly amazing combat.

Originally Posted by Zephyr
Pardon my ignorance, but if there is no 'saving and loading', how do you progress in the game? Checkpoints? If you die, do you just start from scratch every time? If so, lotsa luck selling this one.

I'll just cite the FAQ:
"Your progress in the game will be saved constantly making the effects of all events and decisions permanent. This is an open world game and progress is not linear. Death will result in you returning to life elsewhere in the world, unless in special game modes. Instances of the world are fully persistent but you can carry your characters across multiple instances."

So, roughly similar to what you have in your typical MMO, or in Mount & Blade.

Originally Posted by Frozen Fireball
Looks like Dark Souls is getting influential.

Except you have respawns in Dark Souls, but I don't think you have it in this game as changes made previously are permanant (like in M&B). In Mount and Blade (Warband), if you are beaten in a battle, you are taken prisoner and you lose your money. You then escape and continue with your stats and skills and the world around was active and dynamic while you were in prison (i.e. the magic ingredient in these rare games 'time' continues to tick!). This means that you have to look for your companions and make your army again once escaped from prison.

Originally Posted by SpoonFULL
Except you have respawns in Dark Souls, but I don't think you have it in this game as changes made previously are permanant.

And (if that is not taking the interpretation of "permanent changes" too far) that means it will be better than Dark Souls in that respect. At least I hope that it means there is not as much repetition after death.

That game engine looks like it could give the most advanced and realistic combat of any game to date. It would be a pity if combat really were infrequent. In addition to the game getting funded (it's not even a 3rd of the way there with only 15 days left), I hope they release mod tools for those who might want more combat

Yeah, it's not going to make it, but I like how advanced the engine looked. I backed it, but I really didn't expect the game to fly. $240,000 is a lot of money for unproven designers. I'm not sure they really know where the writing for the game is coming from. There has been absolutely zero written that sounded even vaguely interesting. You're a vague villager, facing a vague threat, that will have extreme consequences for the success of the kickstarter

Perhaps they will try again after Madoc gets some actual game content up and running.

On a treacherous world with a tortured history the meagre remnants of humanity live in awe of a misunderstood past, haunted by forgotten gods and fearful of the very ground they tread. A vast sprawling underworld ever present below their feet, baleful demons lying in wait. Thaumaturges, people with powerful psychic abilities, have abandoned their once benevolent nature turning to cruel and dark activities in their quest for ultimate power. Awoken by impending threats, an abandoned and damaged being gives rise to its ancient weapons who now walk amongst the people again.

Sui Generis is set in a dark, hostile mediaeval world pervaded by intrigue and treachery. A completely original work evolved over many years, the Sui Generis universe is the product of many rare moments of inspiration. It encompasses a vast and rich history spanning aeons and galaxies, not as vague mythology but actual chains of events leading to the current situation. In Sui Generis you will get a sense that everything is connected and exists for a reason. You won't just be fed the history in a cutscene or book and you may never know the full story. You will enter a mysterious, unfamiliar world and as you learn its secrets you will discover that nothing is what it seems…

• Believable fiction. Carefully crafted and researched so it feels authentic down to the smallest detail, the world of Sui Generis will draw you in and captivate you with its depth and complexity.
• Non Linear Story. Write your own story. Create your own character and then interact with the world and events as you see fit. Who knows what might happen? It's not written, it's up to you.
• Reactive characters. Characters and creatures do not have fixed roles. They will react to anything you say or do, how you dress and what tone you set. We're putting the word Character in NPC.
• Physics driven combat. Whether swinging your weapon, shooting an arrow or manipulating the world with your mind, you can expect spectacular and always unique results.
• Interactive environment. Nothing is bolted down or fake, the environment is fully interactive and can play an important tactical role, as well as just provide lots of fun.
• Deep character customisation. Don't just choose a class but create your own unique build and develop your own play style. The paths to success are almost limitless.
• Meaningful Items. Plentiful items, all with plausible qualities and values. Even a rusty sword is effective in the right hands and powerful items will be special and well guarded.

I don't know about those design goals but DAMN that is some serious tech they (or should I say Madoc Evans) has developed. At a bare minimum you could build a variant of Severance Blade of Darkness with this tech with doing much coding at all! Boy would I love to see dismemberment added